To Be Among the Stars
by OnlyTime
Summary: Their love is everlasting, transcending time and written across the stars.


**To Be Among the Stars**

**A.N.**** Hello people. I am writing this story at a ridiculous hour and apologise profusely for the inevitable mistakes that follow. Just an idea that struck me suddenly and written in an attempt to heal my year long heartache that is Doomsday! **

'What the...' A rather ruffled Martha Jones stumbled through the archway into the console room, being jostled this way and that as the TARDIS hurtled dangerously through the Vortex of Time, tossing about her occupants like small boats lost at sea.

'Doctor, what's going on?'

'Aah, Martha, there you are… was wondering where you got to…' the pin-striped man manically grinned at his companion as he perfected his one man show; spinning a random dial with his left hand whilst holding down a suspicious looking lever with his right foot. To an ignorant onlooker, the man clad in the ruffled suit and scruffy converse would indeed appear to be quite mad, but to those select few who knew him, The Last of the Time Lords was in his element.

'What have you done now…? I thought that we were going to visit my family. Remember? Following our recent string of doomed adventures you promised.' Martha prompted, shooting The Doctor a suspicious glance as she desperately held onto the nearest support beam in an attempt to remain upright.

'I take offence at that accusation Miss Jones. I am wounded. Of course I remember and intend to fulfil said promise. Have I ever-'The Doctor was thrown upwards at that, consequently falling in a rather undignified heap on the floor. '…lied to you before?' He finished, brushing himself off as if nothing had happened at all.

Upon receiving the glare Martha was shooting towards him, he wisely decided not to continue on that particular line of enquiry.

'I plotted the coordinates for your trip home, but the Old Girl seems to have other ideas. Should have known better really- she still hasn't recovered properly following our collision with those space cowboys.' The Doctor commented, tenderly stroking the console of his beloved machine whilst simultaneously attempting to bring her under control. 'Hang on Martha, one more tweak of the weather gage and we should have you home before you can eat a banana…'

True to his word, the TARDIS almost immediately reached her destination with a resounding thump, haphazardly thrusting The Doctor and Martha backwards.

'Are you alright back there?' The Doctor hollered to Martha, who had become uncomfortably wedged between the intricate column of coral and the wall.

'Peachy… thanks for asking…' She shot back, dusting herself off as she went to join the Doctor in front of the view monitor and various smaller screens.

'Good good. Here we are then… London, Earth, 2007… wait, that can't be right…' The Doctor suddenly paused in his assessment of the readouts. 'Something's going on here.'

'What is it? What's wrong?' Where are we?' Martha questioned worriedly. She was well acquainted with different forms of danger following her travels with the Doctor, but had learnt not to become complacent. Her studious observations had taught her that The Doctor was almost always in search of danger, throwing himself head first into perilous situations, without any kind of regard for his own personal safety. Their recent encounter with the Daleks, for example, exemplified this. She knew that the man with whom she travelled had been broken somehow, badly, and had become reckless with his life when saving the lives of others. The life she now chose to lead was all the more dangerous as a consequence.

'We are where I said we were, if that makes sense, but we're not when I said we should be, or are… as the case may be.' He offered, deep in thought, running a hand through his great mane of hair. 'She is in more pain than I realised.' He added, again softly caressing the odd arrangement of buttons, levers, dials and trinkets that adorned the main body of the console.

'Can you fix it… her' Martha added quickly, catching the offended look that graced his sharp features.

'She needs rest, is all, a day or two. So we should explore wherever… I mean whenever… we have materialised.' The Doctor grinned at Martha and confidently strode towards the battered double doors, opening them to be suddenly blasted by a warm and pleasant breeze.

The Doctor and Martha walked out of the TARDIS, and after securely locking the doors, ventured out onto the vast green lawn that surrounded them. In the distance, the edges of a dense wood could be made out. The lush foliage of the trees contrasted starkly with the deep turquoise of the evening sky of summer. Benches neatly lined a gravel path that cut through the grassy field and an impressive looking playground stood predominantly to their right. The sporadic splatter of colourful picnic blankets and the laughter of children that cascaded around them alerted the Doctor and Martha to the fact that they must have landed during the summer holiday.

'You got the location right Doctor, for a change, this is London all right.' Martha stated, glancing around at her surroundings. In answer to the Doctor's raised eye-brow, she added. 'I used to come to this park a lot. At school they brought us here on geography trips and stuff.'

'Told you I knew what I was doing, within reason. What year are we in though?' He questioned. On further inspection, the possible date could be narrowed down significantly. The garish colours and floral prints of the nylon tracksuits and leggings, coupled with the rather intimidating perms of the mothers, implied that they were stranded sometime during the nineties.

'July thirtieth 1992. To be exact.' Martha stated, indicating the newspaper on the bench closest to them.

'See, I was almost right… just a tiny, little, teeny-weeny bit out. Consider yourself lucky Miss Jones, once I accidentally veered one hundred years off course and what was supposed to be a rock concert turned into a royal dash away from an oncoming werewolf. Although Ro…I mean… I… was knighted… and… well…anyway… long ago now…' The Doctor sniffed and ceased to talk. A stony, resolute look now dominated his usually vibrant face, telling of infinite grief and heartbreak. In these rare moments, Martha could believe that she was indeed looking at a nine-hundred-plus year old alien, who was weathered by time and burdened by loss. Although, from some aspects he was never more human, living proof that emotions can destroy.

'Oh, look over there, a duck pond, genius things, ducks.' And like that his moment of introspection was cut short and The Doctor, dragging a bemused Martha along, was off running in the direction of the ducks.

That was until The Doctor was stopped in his tracks, an achingly familiar voice piercing his defences and momentarily freezing him to the spot.

_Why here? Why now? _He silently beseeched to know one in particular, perhaps himself.

'ROSE!' Jackie Tyler's voice rang out over the park. She sounded distraught, and what The Doctor thought was anger, was in fact genuine fear for the little girl who was trying, in vain, to reach the highest point on the children's jungle-gym. She was precariously balancing on the vertical bars of the climbing frame, and was extremely high up.

Before the Doctor could act, Jackie had scooped her daughter up and was clutching her to her heart.

'What have I told you about wandering off? Hey! Will you ever learn?' The mother chastised; relief clearly evident in her eyes. The Doctor, who was quite a distance away from the embracing pair, was unconsciously torn between sobbing and laughing out loud. He had always maintained, from day one, that that girl was jeopardy friendly, much too said girl's annoyance. It had been five long years since he had last clapped eyes upon her, on that desolate beach in Norway. Not a waking moment nor haunted dream had passed in which he did not think about her. She resided under his very skin, coursed through the blood in his veins, was so inextricably interwoven into the fabric of his soul. To see her now, so young, so alive, was too much to bear.

'Mummy, why are you crying?' Rose questioned, her smile turning into instant concern for her mother. Her protectiveness already evident at such a young age, she could not have been more than five years old.

_No one upsets my mum…_She would one day come to say.

'You could have been hurt, you could have fallen…dammit Rose… you're all I've got and you are so precious to me!'

'Mummy, don't cry… please don't cry.' Rose whispered, raising her little hands to frame Jackie's face, tenderly wiping away the tears.

This gesture would become the greatest source of comfort to a wounded soldier armoured in a battered leather jacket.

'Rose, just tell me you're sorry.' Jackie asked.

'I am Mummy, I'm sorry.' The little girl earnestly replied and The Doctor could not help but recall a time when he too had been terrified at the thought of losing her, pleading with her to acknowledge the danger she had put herself in. That was but a few years ago for the Jackie and Rose that now stood feet in front of him. The devastating loss incurred that day was clearly visible on Jackie's face and evident in Rose's eyes; the death of Pete Tyler clearly displayed in the closeness of mother and daughter.

'What were you doing Rose… why were you so high?' Jackie continued, although calm now, she still failed to understand the motives of her young child.

'I wanted to be up their Mummy.' Rose simply stated and both Jackie and The Doctor followed her pointed hand, indicating the wide expanse of open sky.

'I want to fly with the birds and touch the stars.' Rose fervently whispered and outstretched both arms in attempt to be that little bit closer to the impossible.

Jackie merely shook her head in exasperation and held her daughter closer. The Doctor could not stop the treacherous tear that breached his defences, a testament to the intense love he held for Rose Tyler; everything she was, is and ever could be. Martha watched transfixed, glancing between the mother and daughter, then back to the Doctor, failing to comprehend the emotions raging within his chocolate eyes.

'Come on you, that's enough scares for today.' Jackie stated, lowering Rose to the floor and grasping her hand. 'Let's get home, young lady.' And the pair began to set off across the now darkening green.

'Mummy…'

'Yes, Rose'

'Can we have chips for tea?' Jackie softly laughed.

'Yes, yes we can Rose.'

'Thank you.'

The Doctor watched the retreating backs of the two people who would, one day in their future, come to adopt him. The love he felt for both surged forwards and he finally found some form of peace. Although his time with Rose had passed, somewhere out there in the great expanse of time, happening right now, a man was grasping a young woman's hand, telling her to _run. _The man was giving the woman a key to his home, to his hearts. The same man, with a different face, was dangling over hell itself, struggling to put the love he felt for the woman into words.

_Oh, she knows._

_Time's not a straight line, it can twist into any shape it likes. _

And from this revelation, Rose Tyler was more alive than ever, and The Doctor found that he could breathe once more and live a fantastic life of his own, until their paths crossed again.

Singing along with her mother, Rose Tyler gazed happily around the park, watching as the last rays of sun disappeared over the tree line. Her eyes lingered momentarily on a tall man with unruly brown hair, who seemed to promise life and adventure, she saw the stars reflected in his eyes. She peered curiously at him for a moment longer and smiled.

'What you smiling at missy?' Jackie questioned.

'The stars.' Rose answered

'_Someday I'll wish upon the stars and wake up where the clouds are far behind me…' (Somewhere Over the Rainbow)_

_The End_

_Thank you for reading!_


End file.
